Prosecutor: Bernal should get life sentence

EL CAJON 
Convicted killer Franko Bernal should be sentenced to life in prison without parole rather than executed, a prosecutor said in court Friday.

Bernal, 22, and Samuel Thomas McCauley Jr., 24, were convicted in February of murder, attempted murder and other charges in connection with the 2006 Thanksgiving weekend slaying of two men and wounding of a third.

A jury last week recommended that McCauley be sentenced to life without parole, and a separate jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of life over death for Bernal.

Prosecutors had the option of seeking a new penalty trial for Bernal to seek his execution. Deputy District Attorney James Romo said outside the courtroom Friday that it made little sense to seek a harsher penalty for Bernal since McCauley was the shooter and Bernal was convicted of being his accomplice.

The killings started after midnight Nov. 24, 2006, when McCauley fatally shot an 18-year-old Murrieta man. During a robbery the next day, McCauley killed a clerk at a Lemon Grove 7-Eleven and wounded a customer. Bernal drove the car used in both incidents.